DES MOINES WOMAN WINS $30,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

Melissa Cooper Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines woman won the top prize of $30,000 playing the "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

Melissa Cooper claimed her prize Friday at the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines. She bought her winning ticket at Nadry, 2701 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines.

Crossword is a $3 scratch game. Players win a prize by uncovering at least three complete words in the ticket's puzzle. If a player uncovers 10 words, he/she wins $30,000. The overall odds of winning in the game are about 1 in 4.

Nineteen prizes of $30,000 are still up for grabs in Crossword as well as 26 prizes of $3,000, more than 420 prizes of $300 as well as more than 2,040 prizes of $100.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.4 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion for state programs.